By Gene and Katie Hamilton

If your old laminate kitchen cabinets are structurally sound but look outdated, consider giving them a budget facelift with a new paint job. Painting cabinets is a big commitment, involving several applications and drying time. This can be a major disruption if the kitchen is the center of a household, so before you consider the job, make sure your family is prepared for the inconvenience.

A painting contractor will charge $710 to prepare, prime and paint the exterior of 100-square-feet of wall and base cabinets. That includes labor and material. You can do the job for $105, the cost of the materials, and save 85 percent. That saving is well earned because the job, while not daunting, does require short sprints of work while the cabinets are being worked on.

Begin the job by removing the hardware, washing the surface, filling in any holes or indentations, and sanding them smooth. Then apply a coat of a primer such, as B-I-N pigmented shellac, to all the surfaces. Then apply one or two topcoats of paint to finish the job. If you use a water-based paint, plan on it taking several days to dry; less time is necessary if you use an oil-based topcoat. New drawer pulls and knobs - in a wide range of styles and prices - will complete the transformation. For good how-to information, watch how-to videos Kitchen Projects or ask the expert where you buy paint.

Is this too big of a job to tackle yourself? You can find a painting contractor who has the skills and tools to do it right. Click here to get to Home Advisor and it will open in a new tab and you’ll have to answer some basic questions about your job followed by contractors in your area to do the job.

Wrapping up, given the average cost to paint laminate cabinets you can compare the price of a contractor’s bid with doing it yourself. For a local cost input your ZIP Code.

Improvement and Repair Cost Updated 2019

The cost and time data is generated by averaging labor and material data from annually updated cost books used by contractors and refined by the authors' experience remodeling 13 houses. They are authors of 20 home improvement books and Do It Yourself or Not, a weekly column syndicated by Tribune Content Agency. The national cost can be adjusted by ZIP Code.